Shrimp with pasta, pesto, tomatoes and fresh basil ~

This summer I noticed I have become a minimalist, really cutting back on cooking and adding the very freshest ingredients whenever I can.

This for two reasons, one, I love our summer's fresh fruits and vegetables and second, it's been really humid lots of nights.  So humid, I don't even want to turn the on the stove.  But cooking pasta only takes ten minutes, so I could justify that amount of time. 


I had just made a big batch of pesto for my freezer, when I thought of Ina Garten's pasta, pesto and pea recipe.  And that gave me the idea of tossing the hot pasta with some pesto.  I went light (2 Tablespoons), but I would suggest more.  Maybe 3 tablespoons.  As you can see my pasta doesn't have much pesto on it.  I used Barilla spaghetti, (one box), but you could use any pasta really.

While I waited for my pasta water to boil, I cored and seeded two roma tomatoes and sprinkled them with a little salt.  I chopped one clove of garlic really finely (because it's raw), almost to a paste.
Although this could certainly be a great vegetarian meal, I had some frozen, pre-cooked extra large shrimp in the freezer.  A quick run under cold water and voila, the shrimp were ready.  In a large bowl, toss the diced tomato, the garlic and the drained shrimp.  Add a teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper.  Toss and let sit while your pasta is cooking.  Drain the pasta and hold out a cup full of pasta water.  Toss the pasta in the pesto and at this point add some pasta water if you need it,  place pasta on a platter.  Spoon over shrimp and tomato mixture.  Sprinkle with fresh julienned basil and slivers of parmesan cheese.

This dish was easy to make and oh so pretty to look at too.  Nothing wrong with being a minimalist once in awhile, is there?

Delish too ~

Enjoy!